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INTRODUCTION
In recent years the global business environment has been characterised by an economic crisis that has affected almost all sectors of the economy, with volatile market conditions and resource constraints creating considerable challenges for organisational survival, let alone growth and profitability (Kuratko, Hornsby and Hayton, 2015:256; Samanta, 2014:1). With the banking industry particularly affected, the severity of the financial crisis and the length of the subsequent economic downturn in the Western world has led to an almost radical process of change in this industry (Clifton, García-Olalla and Molyneux, 2017:193). New regulatory requirements, innovative technologies, mergers and acquisitions, the entrance of foreign competitors, and new lending institutions have contributed to shaping an intensely competitive environment, in which it has become vital to build and maintain long-term relationships with profitable customer segments so as to retain a share of the financial market (Kumar, 2018:2; Martinez-Miera and Schliephake, 2017:2; Scarpi and Marco Visentin, 2015:96). In an effort to achieve closer relationships, the principles of relationship marketing have been embraced by business-to-business industries (Malarvizhi, Jayashree, Nahar and Manzoor, 2018:220; Rizan, Warokka and Listyawati, 2014:2), predominantly in the high-net-worth business banking markets (Howcroft, Durkin, Armstrong and Emerson, 2007:949; Madill, Feeney, Riding and Haines, 2002:86).
The introduction of relationship marketing principles to business banking, and other business-to-business relationships in service industries, underline the importance of socialisation in the service encounter, and recognises that business exchanges may result not only in economic but also in social outcomes (Ferro, Padin, Svensson and Payan, 2016:16). This is grounded in the social exchange theory, which postulates that the social exchange relationship between two exchange partners develops through social interactions that comprise an ‘exchange ratio’ of tangible or intangible actions (Boksberger and Melsen, 2011:231). Each exchange partner compares the economic and social outcomes from these interactions with other available exchange alternatives using a cost-benefit analysis, which over time produce reciprocal obligations (Lambe, Wittmann and Spekman, 2001:6; Emerson, 1976:335). In the context of business relationships, it is postulated that customers receiving greater benefits and higher value from a specific organisation should engage in close relationships to maintain positive outcomes such as customer satisfaction, and, in turn, will reciprocate in the form of increased loyalty to the organisation (Lee, Capella, Taylor and Gabler, 2014:214).
The development of customer loyalty is thus the ultimate purpose of relationship marketing, with creating value from the customer’s perspective, key to achieving it (Cossío-Silva, Revilla-Camacho, Vega-Vázquez and Palacios-Florencio, 2016:1621; Chai, Malhotra and Alpert, 2015:23; Callarisa Fiol, Bigne Alcañiz, Moliner Tena and Sánchez García, 2009:279). The importance of value creation is well documented in strategic management literature, where value is recognised as a primary purchase objective that forms the cornerstone of long-term exchange relationships and marketing strategy (Smith and Colgate, 2007:7; Anderson and Narus, 2004:20; Walter et al., 2001:366). Vargo et al. (2008:149) propose that organisations create value through their products and services, while business customers continue the value-creation process by using the products and services they acquire to strengthen their own market offering. While organisations use physical, human, structural and relational assets as resources to implement value creation strategies (Storbacka and Nenomen, 2009:361), value creation, and what customers value, differs according to context (Smith and Colgate, 2007:7). Thus customers’ perception of value – reflecting the rational trade-off they make between the benefits and sacrifices associated with using a product or service (Lam, Shankar, Erramilli and Murthy, 2004:295) – is at the centre of customer value creation.
CHAPTER 1: CONTEXTUALISATION OF THE STUDY
1.1 INTRODUCTION
1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT
1.3 THEORETICAL CONTEX
1.3.1 Social exchange theory
1.3.2 Relationship marketing
1.3.3 Perceived value .
1.3.4 Service quality
1.3.5 Perceived price
1.3.6 Price fairness
1.3.7 Customer satisfaction
1.3.7.1 Economic satisfaction
1.3.7.2 Non-economic satisfaction
1.3.7.3 The relationship between economic and non-economic satisfaction
1.3.8 Customer loyalty.
1.4 RESEARCH CONTEXT .
1.5 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
1.6 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
1.7 DEMARCATION OF THE STUDY
REFERENCES
CHAPTER 2: ARTICLE 1 PERCEIVED PRICE AND SERVICE QUALITY AS MEDIATORS BETWEEN PRICE FAIRNESS AND PERCEIVED VALUE IN BUSINESS BANKING RELATIONSHIPS: A MICRO-ENTERPRISE PERSPECTIVE
ABSTRACT
2.1 INTRODUCTION
2.2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND HYPOTHESES
2.2.1 Price fairness
2.2.2 Price fairness and perceived price
2.2.3 Price fairness and service quality
2.2.4 Perceived price, service quality, and perceived value
2.3 METHODOLOGY
2.3.1 Research context and sample
2.3.2 Measures and scale items .
2.4 RESULTS.
2.5 RESEARCH IMPLICATIONS
2.6 MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS
2.7 CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH
CHAPTER 3: ARTICLE 2
ECONOMIC AND NON-ECONOMIC SATISFACTION AS OUTCOMES OF MICRO-ENTERPRISES’ PERCEIVED VALUE FROM BANKING RELATIONSHI
3.1 INTRODUCTION
3.3 HYPOTHESES FORMULATION AND RESEARCH MODEL
3.4 METHODOLOGY
3.5 RESULTS AND ANALYSIS
3.6 DISCUSSION
CHAPTER 4: ARTICLE 3 OUTCOMES OF PERCEIVED VALUE IN BUSINESS BANKING RELATIONSHIPS: A MULTIDIMENSIONAL APPROACH TO SATISFACTION AND LOYALTY
4.1 INTRODUCTION
4.2 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
4.3 METHODOLOGY
4.4 EMPIRICAL FINDINGS .
4.5 THEORETICAL IMPLICATIONS
4.6 MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS
4.7 CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
CHAPTER 5: SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS
